1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical distribution systems used in modular furniture, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for attaching conduit to flexible sleeving in an electrical assembly which is part of the electrical distribution system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Jumper cables can be used to electrically interconnect the electrical distribution systems of two modular furniture wall panels, or connect the power mains to an electrical distribution system of a modular furniture wall panel, for example. A jumper cable can include end connectors on either end of the jumper cable, flexible sleeving, and a plurality of electrical conductors enclosed within the flexible sleeving and electrically interconnecting electrical terminals of one end connector to the electrical terminals of the other end connector. The flexible sleeving protects the electrical conductors therewithin, and thereby restricts access to the conductors, which restriction is a safety requirement. However, electrical code requirements can limit the length of the flexible sleeving, thereby limiting the length of the jumper cable, which may not be convenient given the size of the modular wall panels, or the distance of the wall panel to the power mains, for example. That is, the length of the jumper cable can be substantially dictated by the length of the flexible sleeving, because the end connectors are relatively short compared to the length of the flexible sleeving, which sleeving mechanically interconnects the end connectors and encloses the conductors between the end connectors. The needed length of the jumper cable may exceed the allowed length of the flexible sleeving, which therefore requires other protection for the enclosed conductors of the jumper cable, such as rigid or semi-rigid conduit which is not restricted by the electrical code to a certain length. The flexible sleeving typically has a rectangular cross-section, whereas the conduit is typically has an oval or circular cross-section. Further, the flexible sleeving typically is made of plastic, whereas the conduit can be made of plastic or metal, or other materials. There is needed a method and apparatus for joining the flexible sleeving to the conduit to provide a continuity of protected enclosure for the conductors.
Couplings are known which interconnect two circular cross-section conduits of the same diameter; however, these couplings are not suitable for interconnecting a flexible sleeving of a rectangular cross-section to a conduit which has an oval or circular cross-section.
There is known a coupling for raceways used for coupling a thin wall rigid circular conduit and a different type of raceway such as a flexible convoluted circular conduit. The coupling is a tubular member which has a threaded end for attaching to the rigid circular conduit. At the lower end of tubular member there is a split collar that is used for attaching the coupling to the flexible circular conduit. A problem with this coupling is that it requires that the rigid conduit have a threaded end. A further problem with this coupling is that both the rigid conduit and the flexible conduit are required to be of a circular cross-section.
What is needed in the art is a method and apparatus for joining the flexible sleeving of one type of cross-section to rigid or semi-rigid conduit of another type of cross-section.